Cain and Lance remained at Parfum Palace for two days. It wasn't until the arrival of Sir Wikstrom that they considered their mission complete.
Wikstrom recognized Cain the moment he saw him. After all, during the Sinnoh Tournament, Cain had left a deep impression on him.
After exchanging a few polite words and entrusting Wikstrom with the task of protecting Parfum Palace, Cain and Lance departed together.
They flew on their Flying-type Pokémon in the direction of Lumiose City.
Their next mission was to investigate Lysandre Labs. Once completed, they could return to their respective regions.
But halfway there, Cain said to Lance, "There's something I need to take care of. Go to Lumiose City ahead of me — I'll meet you at the Pokémon Center within two days."
Without waiting for a reply, Cain veered off course on his Flygon and flew in another direction.
Lance watched him leave, unsure what was going on, but he understood that everyone had urgent matters from time to time. He didn't give it much thought.
He gave a light pat to his Dragonite's neck. Without Flygon slowing him down, Dragonite greatly increased its speed.
As for Flygon, relieved by the separation, it finally relaxed a little.
There's no pain without comparison.
Flying alongside Dragonite all this time had put him under immense pressure.
Being a Flying Pokémon is no easy task...
Seeing that Lance showed no concern, Cain relaxed. He ordered Flygon to descend into the forest between Parfum Palace and Lumiose City.
At the top of a tree, he opened an alternate dimension and entered it.
When he emerged, he was a completely different person.
He had returned to his original appearance and now wore a wide black cloak with a hood.
Shortly after stepping out, his face began to distort until it became completely unrecognizable.
He used his psychic powers to veil his face, making it impossible to distinguish his features.
Then he threw a Poké Ball and summoned his Honchkrow.
"Let's go," said Cain, now with a distorted, raspy voice.
Honchkrow nodded, flapped its wings, and took off. Cain grabbed one of its legs.
Just like when they entered the Tower of Mastery, he used his psychic powers to float, so he wouldn't be a burden to Honchkrow. Thanks to that, their flight was even faster than with Flygon.
The only downside was that he couldn't sit comfortably on Honchkrow like he could on Flygon.
Cain's destination was the location he had tracked down two days earlier using the system connected to Aliana's glasses.
Spending a couple of days at Parfum Palace had helped him avoid suspicion.
Lysandre's secret base wasn't far from Lumiose City. It was located deep within a mountain near the city.
Thanks to Honchkrow, Cain found it quickly.
He landed gently and threw another Poké Ball, summoning Gengar.
One of the advantages of Gengar was that its energy and aura were hard to detect. If someone didn't know him well, they'd never associate him with Cain's Gengar.
"So it's inside this mountain? Pretty well hidden. Looks like the preparations have already started," Cain thought to himself.
To be cautious, and after making sure there were no surveillance systems nearby, he summoned Slowking to leave a psychic marker. It was necessary to ensure an escape route at any moment.
"Gengar, find the entrance," ordered Cain.
"Kekeke...!" Gengar laughed and nodded.
Now that he had reached Elite level, Gengar was even harder to detect.
At that moment, Cain's shadow rippled, and his Mismagius appeared.
Cain patted her head with a smile. "I'll be counting on you later, okay?"
"Miiis~" Mismagius replied happily, eyes half-closed.
She was even harder to detect than Gengar. Thanks to constant training, she could completely conceal her presence. If she hid in the shadows, even Professor Oak's Dragonite wouldn't be able to find her.
Of course, if there were a Pokémon with extremely sharp senses, it might detect her. But Cain was confident there was no one or nothing here capable of that.
While Cain mentally reviewed every step of the plan, eyes closed, checking for flaws, Gengar returned from the shadows.
"Kekeke..." Gengar floated in front of him.
Cain slowly opened his eyes and said, "Let's go."
Gengar led the way while Cain followed, wrapping himself in psychic energy to completely hide his presence. If there was any Pokémon with a keen sense of smell nearby, it could memorize his scent — something he needed to avoid.
Additionally, Cain had a particularly intense aura due to the "Aura's Gift" from the Lucario of Mythical Island, which also needed to be hidden.
Upon reaching a massive rock, he watched Gengar pass through it effortlessly. Only with his help could Cain find the hidden entrance, concealed beneath thick shrubbery. There, a password panel was installed.
Cain smirked and placed his hand on it.
Clack!
To Cain's system, no code posed a challenge.
The large rock slid aside like an automatic door, revealing a tunnel with a high-tech appearance.
At the entrance stood two guards. At first, they thought they should salute, but upon seeing who it was, they froze. Before they could hit the alarm, Gengar put them to sleep with Hypnosis.
Cain continued down the tunnel until he reached another electronic door, where this time the alarm did go off. The surveillance system had detected him.
He looked at the wall-mounted camera, placed his hand on the door like it was his own home, and opened it effortlessly.
In the monitoring room, the security staff were stunned.
How is this guy opening doors more easily than we do?
Due to the alarm, a tall man — about 1.80 meters, wearing a black and red suit, with bright orange hair flowing like a lion's mane — appeared immediately.
Upon seeing him, the two men in the control room stood up and exclaimed in unison:
"Mr. Lysandre!"
If not for the sunglasses he wore, the fanatical devotion in their eyes would've been plain to see.
They looked like cult followers.
Lysandre nodded and asked, "What happened?"
(End of chapter)